Suspended sentences for brothers who smashed windows as children and babysitter (13) huddled in hallway

Two brothers who smashed the windows of a family home while three young children and a 13-year-old babysitter —the sole occupants of the house — huddled, terrified, in the hallway, have been given suspended sentences.

Adam McMorrow aged 23, and his younger brother Evan McMorrow, aged 20, formerly of Cloonfad, Oldtown, Athlone, now both of Killeenmore, Co Offaly, were expected to have paid a total of €13,000 in compensation to the owner of the house, including €1,000 for the babysitter.

The order was made in October of last year, with some money having been paid prior to that and, when the brothers came before the court again this month, it was heard that they still had a total of €2,200 to pay.

The charges relate to the night of August 20th, 2023, into the early hours of August 21st, 2023, when the injured party and his wife were attending a birthday party in Loughrea.

They made plans to have a drink at the home of the injured party’s father next door afterwards, as they didn’t like to drink in their own home while the children were there, the court heard.

On their way there, they stopped at a service station for cigarettes and met Adam McMorrow.

The court heard that something was said, resulting in the injured party grabbing him and wrestling him, causing both to tumble over an ice cream dispenser.

While they were at his father’s house a short time later, they heard a loud car pass the house and looked out to see it pulling into their own gateway, at Taughmaconnell, Co Roscommon, before three people got out and began roaring and smashing the windows.

They waited until they felt safe enough to go back to their home and went over to find their three young children and 13-year-old babysitter huddling in the hallway and crying.

They found half a concrete block in the sitting room, a baton in a downstairs bedroom, and blood on the walls.

The babysitter gave a statement to gardaí, stating a brick had come through the living room window and she could hear people shouting and the children crying.

Fortunately, she had taken the baby out of his cot, as it was beside the window, which was smashed moments later.

Damage to the door, windows, patio windows, and other glass amounted to €8,626, which was covered by the couple’s insurance, but increased their premium by approximately €100 per month, the court heard.

The injured party had a number of missed calls from Adam McMorrow, as well as a Facebook message, which read “I promise you’ll see me. You’ll be one sorry boy, ya big fool.

“I’ll burn your house ya dirty lookin’ eejit”.

When arrested and interviewed, Adam McMorrow confirmed that there had been an altercation in the service station but denied involvement in any damage to the house.

His brother, Evan, was arrested after DNA evidence confirmed the blood at the scene was his. He made full admissions.

A total of €2,000 was paid in June by way of compensation, the court heard, with a further €1,050 in court on the day of the sentence hearing in October.

Another €5,750 has been paid since October, with €2,000 more in court last week, leaving a balance of €2,200 still to be paid.

Neither of the brothers had previous convictions at the time of the offence, but both have come to subsequent Garda attention for road traffic matters.

In a victim impact statement last October, the owner of the home told the court that, when he thinks of the incident, he feels like he has “failed as a father” because these men were able to “destroy our home and terrify our kids”.

He said the incident left him and his wife “broken, helpless and numb”.

“The amount of time, work and effort put into building our family home and it was destroyed within minutes,” he said.

The family had to move out for a week to allow for temporary single-paned windows to be installed at a cost of €900 from their own pocket, while they waited for the double-glazed panes to be replaced.

“We were still finding glass in the house for six or eight weeks,” he said.

“The kids were scared to go to bed on their own up to six months after.

“They asked were the boys who made all the banging ever going to come back.

“We had to sleep beside our eldest kids (aged four and five) for six months after”.

Financially, he said he had to take two weeks off work, at a loss of €1,600, while his wife was down €2,600 in earnings due to needing to take a month off work.

Furthermore, the electricity bill was €600 for the two months due to having to keep the heat on consistently because of heat escaping through the temporary single-glazed windows.

The children are “doing well but it took a long time”, he said, stating that it was the couple’s one-year-old baby that broke their hearts as there were “numerous bits of glass in his cot”.

In mitigation, Robert Lowe BL, told the court that Adam McMorrow had suffered a difficult time following the tragic death of the boys’ mother in a house fire, which he witnessed.

He was homeless for a while, but has since found stable employment and is in a stable relationship.

Ross Nestor BL, on behalf of Evan McMorrow, said his client had made full admissions.

He was 17 at the time of the offence and a referral had been made to the Garda Youth Diversion Programme, but he was deemed unsuitable and DPP directions were to prosecute.

He admitted to throwing the concrete block through the window and said he was unaware there were small children in the house and he “felt terrible”.

“He was highly intoxicated and didn’t use his brain,” said Mr Nestor.

Evan McMorrow had assisted the injured party with odd jobs during the construction of the house and “would’ve had a decent relationship” prior to the incident.

Both brothers are currently living and working in Tullamore and both had provided written apologies to the court.

“It’s very clear this was an appallingly heinous act.

“It is absolutely abhorrent what those children went through,” Judge Connolly said at the sentence hearing, including the 13-year-old babysitter in that statement, as she was “placed in a situation where she was the protector of these children” during the terrifying incident.

“It is chilling to think of the babysitter and children huddling in the hallway,” he said.

When sentencing the two men, he noted the “astounding level of violence” and the effect the incident had on the family.

“I really should be imposing immediate custodial sentences on these two for these acts,” he said.

However, he acknowledged such mitigating factors as guilty pleas, full admissions and apologies and positive probation reports.

For Adam McMorrow, he said he considered the threat of arson on the family’s home to be “a most serious threat”.

Evan McMorrow, he said, was more culpable as he was directly involved in the criminal damage, “though I have my suspicions regarding Adam, and they are more than suspicions”.

He set a headline sentence for Adam McMorrow of four years and four months, which he mitigated to three years and four months.

For Evan McMorrow, he set a headline sentence of five years and four months, which he mitigated to four years.

“In both cases, despite the very serious view I take on this offending, I will suspend both sentences for five years,” he said, adding conditions that they each pay a balance of €1,100 to the victims through their solicitor, and remain under the supervision of the probation service for one year.

They have also been ordered to engage with anger management techniques and emotional dysregulation as deemed appropriate by the probation service.

• Published as part of the Courts Reporting Scheme.